The Syrian War: Israel and U.S. Coordinating How to Target Assad’s Arsenal

A Free Syrian Army fighter wearing a gas mask, carries his weapons as he walks past a damaged tank, after seizing a government military camp used by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, near Idlib, June 13, 2013.

52 days after an Israeli general publicly declared that Syria has used chemical weapons against rebels, the Obama administration reached the same conclusion, and used the finding to justify announcing it would send small arms to the side of the victims. “I will not say ‘We told you so,’ only, okay, the proof is there, so there’s no more question about it,” says Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor, taking with a smile the easy part of the equation now laid before Israel. As for the hard part: “Now, what should be done? It’s not for Israel to say, because the international involvement in this should not include Israel. Israel follows very closely developments there. It’s very concerned about activity on its borders. But we’re not aspiring to be involved in any action about what’s happening in Syria.”

In fact, of course, Israel is closely involved already, and in more ways than they are acknowledged publicly. Israeli military officials tell TIME that American intelligence had the same information that Brig. Gen. Itai Brun cited in his April 23 presentation to a public conference – video footage showing victims foaming at the mouth, and other indicators that made it clear that sarin had been used on the battlefield more than once. “We are sharing,” one Israeli intelligence official said at the time. “We have our cards on the table with the Americans for a long time. They’ve had all this information.”

Though the speech embarrassed President Obama, who had repeatedly called use of chemical weapons “a game changer” in his Syria policy, it was officially inadvertent. No one in Israel’s political echelon knew of Brun’s remarks in advance, and officials from both countries spent several days publicly repairing the impression that Israel was trying to force Obama to intervene. At an operational level, cooperation between the two countries has been exceptionally close — and growing closer as Washington publicly ramps up its military involvement in the Syrian conflict.

“It’s a clear, purposeful, presence of a strike force near the border of Syria,” the Israeli official noted. “I think it’s a message, a clear message.” The message is also meant to be legible to Iran, which is arming Syria and the Lebanese militia Hizballah by air, as well as testing the resolve of Western powers who threaten to strike its nuclear program. “It’s only a short leap to the Gulf,” the official said.

Patriot batteries went into Turkey last year, under the banner of NATO. And the chief of Mossad, Israel’s overseas intelligence agency, traveled to Ankara this week to meet with Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization, known by its Turkish initials MIT. As opponents of Syrian President Bashar Assad organize themselves to assist the rebels opposing him, Israel feels obliged to lay low. Though closely aligned with Washington, and maintaining diplomatic relations with Jerusalem, countries like Jordan and Turkey have majority Muslim populations who would not welcome overt military cooperation with Israel. “If this is to hold water, this cannot involve Israel,” the Israeli official said.

Behind the scenes, however, Israeli and U.S. military officials are coordinating how to target and destroy Assad’s arsenal of unconventional weapons under assorted scenarios, Israeli military and intelligence officials tell TIME. One scenario would be the sudden removal of Assad from the scene, be it by flight, death or if he simply disappears. That would prompt the allies to launch operations on the estimated 18 depots and other sites where WMDs are stored, the officials said. Search and destroy operations would also be launched if the weapons appeared to be about to fall into the hands of the rebels, which include Islamist extremists aligned with al-Qaeda.

The Israeli officials emphasized that it had not been decided whether both Israeli and U.S. forces would act, or who would do what. But the U.S. plans called for deploying forces on the ground as well as waves of airstrikes, to assure that the chemical and biological components are neutralized, according to the Israeli officials.

Israel already has struck by air inside Syria three times this year, targeting advanced weapons systems such as anti-aircraft batteries and highly accurate Russian-made missiles that officials said were being transferred to Hizballah, something Israeli officials repeatedly had warned would prompt discreet, surgical action intended only to safeguard its military advantage over the Lebanese militia, which is sponsored by Iran and supported by Syria (where Hizballah recently sent troops to help Assad).

“The main arms of concern to us are the arms that are already in Syria — these are anti-aircraft weapons, these are chemical weapons and other very, very dangerous weapons that could be game changers,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the BBC in April, in remarks the Israeli foreign ministry said remained operative in the wake of Obama’s decision to arm the rebels. “They will change the conditions, the balance of power in the Middle East. They could present a terrorist threat on a worldwide scale. It is definitely our interest to defend ourselves, but we also think it is in the interest of other countries.”

Karl Vick has been TIME's Jerusalem bureau chief since 2010, covering Israel,the Palestine territories and nearby sovereignties. He worked 16 years at the Washington Post in Nairobi, Istanbul, Baghdad, Los Angeles and Rockville, MD.

Now tell me where is U.N??? I don't ask from USA because I know they will never speak and do something that is good for Muslims. But UN, is this organization is only for Non-Muslims?? Muslims don't have any right to live. If Muslims fight for their right, the are terrorist and if Non.Muslims fight they are on right????

Western politicos love to shed swamps of crocodile tears about "the Syrian people" and congratulate themselves within the "Friends of Syria" framework for defending them from "tyranny".

Well, the "Syrian people" have spoken. Roughly 70% support the government of Bashar al-Assad. Another 20% are neutral. And only 10% are aligned with the Western-supported "rebels", including those of the kidnapping, lung-eating, beheading jihadi kind.

The data was provided mostly by independent relief organizations working in Syria. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) received a detailed report in late May - but, predictably, was not too keen on releasing it.

As Asia Times Online has been stressing for months, the Sunni business classes in Damascus and Aleppo are either neutral or pro-Assad. And most Sunnis now regard the gangs of foreign mercenaries weaponized by Qatar and the House of Saud as way more repellent than Assad. http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/MID-03-050613.html

Imagine if America took all African Americans and Hispanics and sent them to New Jersey and California respectively, walled them in, didn't let them vote or import goods, poisoned their livestock, flooded their farm land with raw sewage, uprooted and burned their crops, stole their water, sent the military to kidnapped their children, enacted racial purity laws that forbade them from marriage, and routinely bombed and executed civilians. Then imagine that someone tried to call that "democracy." That is the EXACT situation in "Israel" and Palestine right now. Why do Americans let ANYONE get away with calling "Israel" a democracy? Are we cowards or are stupid? "Israel" is neither a democracy or an American ally. "Israel" is a racist, parasitic, and illegitimate terrorist enclave and we should do the world a favor and take it out. Know more peace: NO MORE ISRAEL.

"The body of a Jew is of a totally different quality from the bodies of gentiles of all other nations of the world. The bodies of gentiles are in vain. An even greater difference is in regard to the soul. A gentile's soul comes from three satanic spheres, while the Jew's soul stems from holiness. Thus, we do not have a case of profound change in which a Jew is merely on a superior level. Rather, we have a case of 'let us differentiate' between totally different species." - Menachim Mendel Schneerson, leader of the largest Orthodox Jewish group in the World, Chabad Lubavich, as quoted in "Jewish Fundamentalism in Israel," Israel Shahak, p. 59.

My guacamaya, Ravi, won't touch that corn, but when white corn comes in that is non gene-spliced, she eats it with gusto. Corn stover, now is rejected by livestock and those dumb suckers have to put Kevlar socks on their tractor wheels

And of course we should remember that it was Israel and the US who insisted Iraq had nuclear weapons, so why anyone with half a brain (TIME) would listen to their claims about Syria is a complete mystery!

"With gentiles, it will be like any person – they need to die, but God will give them longevity. Why? Imagine that one’s donkey would die, they’d lose their money. That’s why the gentile gets a long life, to work well for this Jew. Why are gentiles needed? They will work, they will plow, they will reap. We will sit like an effendi and eat. That is why gentiles were created. Gentiles were born only to serve us. Without that, they have no place in the world – only to serve the People of Israel" - Chief Rabbi of Israel, Ovadia Yosef, as reported in Jerusalem Post, October 18, 2010.

“Now, what should be done? It’s not for Israel to say, because the international involvement in this should not include Israel. Israel follows very closely developments there. It’s very concerned about activity on its borders. But we’re not aspiring to be involved in any action about what’s happening in Syria.”

Of course, why should Israel put its much-vaunted military in REAL danger when the American lap-dog can be goaded into doing Israel's dirty work. Besides, the oh-so-brave IDF has its hands full pushing unarmed women and children out of their homes in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, with a bulldozer at their heels. This so-called evidence is clearly a fabricated Israeli ploy to get America into Syria, as a staging ground for the assault on Iran, the last obstacle to total Israeli hegemony over the entire Middle East.

So America is concerned there's too much killing in Syria, and the solution is to send in more guns? Moreover, they are sending these guns to arm Al Qaeda, the evil, America-haters supposedly behind 9/11! The logic is inescapable.

Enough already! The only international involvement required in the region is pushing Israel back into its legitimate, 1948 borders, and defanging Mossad so all these false-flag operations can be preempted.

Michel
Chossudovsky - Founder and Director of the Centre for Research on Globalization
(CRG): «In late May 2013, the UN Security Council added Al Nusrah to the UNSC
“Al-Qaida Sanctions List.”Yet at the
same time, the Security Council decision casually dismissed the fact, amply
documented, that three permanent members of the Council, namely Britain, Franceand the US continue to provide military aid
to the Jabbat Al Nusrah Front, in defiance of international law and the UN
Charter.»

Quran 5:51 O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the
Christians as allies. They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is
an ally to them among you – then indeed, he is [one] of them.Indeed,
Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.

Quran 2: 120 “never will the Jews and the Christians approve
of you until you follow their religion. Say, "Indeed, the guidance of
Allah is the [only] guidance." If you were to follow their desires after
what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allah no protector or
helper.”

Who those Muslim will go to suck the leg of non-Muslim powerful
leader around when they got the trouble? The world’s popular media says “those
are good Muslim”.

Quran13:But those
who break the covenant of Allah after contracting it and sever that which Allah
has ordered to be joined and spread corruption on earth–for
them is the curse, and they will have the worst home….

@ezrapoundsghost Yosef isn't the chief rabbi of Israel, he's the spiritual leader of a religious political party in Israel with a very specific and narrow support base (religious Jews of Middle Eastern descent). He's considered by the vast majority of Israelis to be an imbecile who often spouts nonsense (like the quote you provided).

If you're going to try an spread your propganda, at least do it right.

@deksoftwareintAs bad as Saddam Hussein the was president of Iraq may have been, what the US had did in the lie of a WMD invasion of Iraq was 1000 % worse on its people and it is still a mess there as is in Libya and will only get worse in Syria do to USA-NATO meddling. Who elected the US and NATO as World police anyways.? As it is illegal to impersonate the police ; and so it is , was rogue action (s) by the US NATO .

( 100,000? who was there counting and who did the torture and murders? When was the trial? Mr judge jury who convicted Assad . Maybe the terrorists had a hand in it it too?(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...Under the black flag of al-Qaeda, the Syrian city ruled by gangs of extremists;

SYRIA: Al-Qaida Terrorists seem moving from Libya to Syria) .

Maybe Assad had nothing to do with it , the tortured and murdered? how do you know? clairvoyant? or what ? ) .

President Peres, the ‘moderate’, attended Yosef’s October 16, 2010 sermon, which included the “Goyim were born… only to serve the People of Israel” passage quoted by 'ezrapoundsghost', and the audience on hand voiced raucous approval of the Rabbi's words. You can find Yosef in photos with every Israeli leader of note, including Bibi and Barak: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4xMHVSZLyU

And Yosef is not the only high-ranking Rabbi with a dim view of non-Jews. On June 28, 2011, Haaretz published "Israel's chief clergy decries arrest of top rabbi who called for killing gentiles". The following quote resonates:

'In an unusual step, Israel's two chief rabbis, Yona Metzger and Shlomo Amar, yesterday released a joint statement decrying "the severe damage to the dignity of an important rabbi and rabbinic judge, one of Israel's greatest rabbis."' The offending rabbi (Lior) was amicably questioned and released, while, "[c]onsidering the sensitive nature of the issue, the final decision [on whether to punish the rabbi] would be made by Attorney General [AG] Yehuda Weinstein."

Based on this EVIDENCE, is there ever a point at which we goyim permitted to express concern about people who adhere to such beliefs? Israel supporters who casually sling baseless allegations of anti-Semitism, without addressing what goes on in Israel, are nothing but brazen hypocrites.

PS: If you're going to use the word 'propaganda', at least spell it right.

You missed the two chief rabbis defense of rabbi Lior, after the latter gave a positive review for a racist book that advocated a Jew's right to kill non-Jews who pose no physical threat. To spell it out in full for you, Israel's TWO CHIEF RABBIS concurred with Lior's assessment that Jews have the right to kill goyim, without needing to justify their actions.

The greater point is this: even AFTER Yosef's remarks, Bibi and other prominent figures felt obligated to seek Yosef's counsel on striking Iran, and, as the evident in the photos I linked to, Yosef's unacceptable remarks did not subsequently make him unwelcome at gatherings of prominent political figures. What would happen if an American politician was photographed admiring a Christian clergyman who had made even remotely similar remarks about Jews? The double standard is as obvious as it is unacceptable. Moreover, US press made not a peep about Yosef's racist slander.

@jj.wyndham@someguyintheclouds Obviously he's met with leading politicians, he's a prominent public figure. Politicians, like all politicians, try to make nice with whoever they can. If I wasn't clear, his interpretation of this biblical passage or whatever it is, is loathsome to most Israelis, me among them. you can continue taking this quote to reinforce your worldview if you want, but I'm telling you it's a mistake. the vast majority of Israelis think this guy is a senile old fool.

@someguyintheclouds@ezrapoundsghost Why do Jews and Communist always suggest that their political enemies are "insane" and in need of medication and institutionalization? The answer is because both Jews and Communists (and government/NGO employees) have a totalitarian bent of mind. Which one are you? All three? Re: "democracy" - It's a hideous, false ideology that ALWAYS leads to tyranny. America was never intended to be a democracy. However, in point of fact, "Israel" is not a democracy. Imagine if America took all African Americans and Hispanics and sent them to New Jersey and California respectively, walled them in, didn't let them vote or import goods, poisoned their farmland, uprooted their fruit trees, stole their water, dumped sewage into their villages, and routinely bombed and executed civilians and someone tried to call that "democracy." That is the only kind of "democracy" that obtains in "Israel." How do the racial purity laws that Israel has fit into your definition of "democracy?"

@ezrapoundsghost Seriously, go back to your docor and get that prescription renewed. Just stop it already with these sad conspiracy theories. Israel isn't going anywhere, might as well accept that and focus instead on promoting democratic values of liberty and gender equality in the Muslim world. You know, instead of spouting off your blind hatred of Israel at every opportunity. You lack of knoweldge about U.S.-Israel relations is laughable at best.

@idfelite @JennaIdleNoMore Do you ever worry that the US military will show the American people the evidence that Israel did 9/11? When that happens, Israel is going to vanish forever under 2 million patriotic American bootheels. Many Americans I know personally - nonpolitical kind of people - are beginning talk about much America will benefit by the elimination of Israel.